"So Apparently They Decided To Turn Our Apartment Complex Into A Nudist Colony"

By alexchasickJune 19, 2008

Reader Sam writes in to let us know that his apartment complex is being converted into a “clothing optional” paradise. Tenants of The Arbors at Branch Creek, you are now the hedonistic residents of Eden!

According to Sam and an article in the Tampa Bay Times, current (clothed) residents of the apartment complex were unaware of the plans, and the apartment manager didn’t know what was going on either. Sam says, “I don’t mind nudist colonies, I just don’t want to live in one! What really bothers me the most is the company that owns the property released the information to the public (news, etc.) before they even discussed it with the residents/apt. complex management.” From Eden’s “Lifestyles” page:

You’re going to be very comfortable with our dress code. Our residents are welcome to shed more than their inhibitions as they enter the gates of Eden. Because when our residents come home after a busy day in the working world, they want to completely unburden themselves, shed the trappings of the outside world… and be totally free.

Sam says he’s spoken with the office manager, who’s promised that tenants who don’t want to publicly explore their sensual sides will be able to break their leases without penalty, but he’s worried, as there are lots of children and teens in the community. We browsed around on Eden’s website (and we strongly encourage our readers to do the same, because it’s hilarious), and we were shocked to find out that even the animals are naked.

Yeah…. naked encampments like this are definitely NOT full of hot chicks and muscled guys. They’re generally fat farms. There’s a nudist place just a mile or so down the road from me, and I certainly wouldn’t want to spend much time there. You can see it from the water if you go by in a jetski or a boat, and they are some fugly people. Mostly guys.

The pic attached to this article would definitely fall into the NSFW category for my office. Can the editors please use additional discretion when selecting photos in the future? I would have appreciated a, “Hit the jump for NSFW pic…” warning or similar.

@freepistol: For real. And it’s great that their going to let people break their leases without a financial penalty, but moving is the biggest hassle in the world and it can cost a whole lot of money, too. I can’t IMAGINE what I would do if I woke up and read that my place was being turned into a nudist colony of all things. My neighbors are disgusting slobs when they’re clothed. I can’t imagine what’s underneath.

Image: Bay Watch babes cavorting nakkid, playing volleyball.
Reality: Grandma squatting in front of you to pick up her paper.
But a totally hawt grandma!

I’d argue against Alex’s referencing “exploring their sensual sides”. I’ve been to a bunch of nudist beaches since a kid and it’s not sensual. Just dangly and free. Oh, people? Remember to sunblock ALL your areas or suffer the consequences.

Can we have the image blocking the guy’s unit extend to say, his sternum? Give us guys something to aspire to, Consumerist!

I wonder if the owners are setting themselves up for a bunch of lawsuits. People who don’t appreciate nudists will consider the owners to be creating a hostile environment since the residents won’t feel comfortable there any more.

@Michael Belisle: The only “think of the children” aspect that I thought of reading the above was that, if there are a lot of families with children and teenagers, there is a good chance that a lot of families who don’t want their kids to grow up in a nudist apartment complex (whether because they’re prudes or because their teenagers might have coronaries if the new residents were either as hot as the site seems to suggest or as hideous as we suspect) will have to pick up and move.

I’ve got nothing against nudists. And in fact, a previous comment said they should have brought it to a vote with the tenants.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a co-op. Instead, it’s an apartment building. Because of that, the landlord decides what goes, and they’re probably realizing that they can get all the current residents out, revamp the place a little bit, and charge a premium for a specialized kind of living. It’s a good idea, especially since fighting for renters is about location and amenities, and if this place is a bit removed from typical commutes, or is far away from where people work, then I bet with the rise in gas prices, they’re going to have a tough time competing with other apartment buildings.

Solution: provide that special service for people who want it, and don’t mind having to drive out to work (or are retired already, as it seems like a lot of nudists are).

It doesn’t sound all that bad on their website. They have a clothing optional pool and nude sunbathing. I’ve been to resorts with a similar setup and they are almost always screened off so casual passer-bys won’t see anything. It certainly doesn’t sound like people walking around everywhere naked.

This is hilarious – “lots of children and teens in the community.” Heh. I grew up with hippie parents. Every vacation included a stop at nudist colonies. You know what, it really is no big deal. It is not sexual. In fact, as has been stated here, it’s just a bunch of normal people who look like… a bunch of normal people. It’s not attractive and it’s most definitely not a turn on.

We’re way too prude in this country. It shouldn’t be an issue if your child sees someone naked. They see themselves naked all the damn time, what’s the problem here? Afraid they’re going to see a bunch of people who look exactly like themselves? I understand you don’t want your children exposed to sexual activities, and neither do I, but nudity and sex are two entirely different things. Quite frankly sex is the LAST thing on anyone’s mind when you’re hanging around a bunch of naked people. Your teens will get much more horny gawking at one another’s tight, short jeans. Stick ‘em all in a room, naked, with other naked folk and the response will be quite the opposite of what the “save the children” crowd fears.

@camille_javal: a lot of families who don’t want their kids to grow up in a nudist apartment complex … will have to pick up and move.

Yup. Worse things have happened.

@Trai_Dep: Reality: Grandma squatting in front of you to pick up her paper.

“There’s good naked and bad naked. Naked hair brushing, good; naked crouching, bad. When you cough, there are thousands of unseen muscles that suddenly spring into action. It’s like watching that fat guy catch a cannonball in his stomach in slow motion.”

As a retired massage therapist, I can tell you that most people look better naked. Which is NOT to say that they all look like sexual ideals. But they do look normal. The human body, taken as a whole with all of it’s variations, is surprisingly unremarkable. Even the people that you think would be scary.

That being said, I would pissed if this happened to me with no warning. It’s one thing to be comfortable with the body. It’s another to be thrust into someone else’s lifestyle without a vote.

Maybe I’m not understanding something, but the description doesn’t seem true nudist… The swimming pool is described as “European style” (though in the pool image they seem fully nude). European style applies just to women, what about the men ? :)

@carso: I made it smaller on the main page so there isn’t totally unexpected sexiness popping up, but, and this might make a good future post, if your job doesn’t allow you to look at scantily or unclad people at work, you should probably look for another job…

Children and teens indeed….there will be naked animals roaming about! What is this world coming to, where young people can see a dog’s bare ass. Someone hand me some pearls, I suddenly feel the need to clutch some.

As someone who DOES live in a nudist resort (Cypress Cove near Orlando), I can tell you that it is an incredibly great way to live. Don’t knock it unless / until you’ve tried it. Not having to worry — ever — about what, if anything, to wear, is an indescribable freedom most people can’t even imagine. Plus, our neighbors are the nicest, most friendly and unassuming people you’d ever meet.

So, good luck to the folks at this complex — the world needs more nudists!

@jimconsumer: SO true, that–americans are way too uptight about any level of nudity. it’s hard to find even a topless-friendly beach in this country, because it probably turns “grown” men into adolescents/voyeurs, and pisses off uptight women. lame!

it looks like this place is going condo, so those leases would likely not be renewed, at some point (don’t claim to know fl laws, don’t want to)

and they boast “two sculptured swimming pools”! what the hell are those??

Unfortunately, many (most?) people in our overly religious and prudish country equate an adult being naked around anyone below 18 as pedophilia and as something overtly sexual.

Heck, where I live now (Arkansas — no jokes please; I saw the same in Massachusetts) seeing 2 kids naked (regardless of age or sex) is looked on as a sexual display and is a lot more than frowned on. The parents are also suspected of being closet child-lovers.

I’m not a prude but I do not want to see the average American roaming around the apartment complex naked. If I lived there and had this thrust upon my life I would be asking the ownership to not only let me out of my lease but fork over for my moving expenses and deposits for a new place. Since most places do not give you your deposit back until you move out and the new place wants it up front that can really strain one’s finances if this was unexpected. This could also be a massive problem for someone if there is a certain image expectation where they work and it came back that they were living in a nudist or swingers building.
As far as a nudist or swingers apartment complex itself. As long as they are clear about what they are to potential tenants and screen their activities from public view not a big deal.

@Freethought: I have tried it. There’s nothing that great about it other than rain doesn’t bother you because wet skin dries pretty quick outside. It’s freeing not to be running for cover when it starts to rain.

Other than that, I found that I was always uncomfortable sitting or lying down somewhere, mostly sweating from skin on surface contact and I found that unpleasant.

I have one problem with nudist resorts: hygeine. Seriously. Most people have insufficient hygeine to begin with, I do NOT want to be sitting down on a chair that someone else’s bare ass has been on. It’s unsanitary.

@revmatty: do you seriously believe a layer of cotton saves you from predatory microbes? one’s hands and mouths transmit far more germs than one might get from butt cheeks. and sitting on outdoor furniture is not likely an issue around a chlorine-laden pool.

clearly, there’s more than hygiene coming between you and any sort of nudity.

@revmatty: If you knew anything about what you are commenting on, you’d know that proper nudist etiquette is to ALWAYS sit on a towel, and never sit on anything without a towel between it and your butt. So, hygiene is not a concern and I have found most nudist resorts to be spotlessly clean, since there are no soggy swimsuits dripping everywhere.

The problem here is that the tenants and the renters had an agreement – the tenant would live in the (non-nudist colony) apartment complex for X amount of time and pay $X per month. If the tenant broke that contract, they would have a penalty to pay. Now the renter is breaking the contract, but rather than having to pay a penalty, they just have “let” their tenants out of the contract.

I think it could solve one of my biggest problems. I just got back from the doc. Menopause… I’ve hit the jack pot! (Please let this be it Gawd! Please.) My primary reason for going was the hot flashes. She gave me sleep meds. I moaned and groaned about not wanting more pills. This is the answer I needed. I’ll move my flabby butt to Florida and bask in the glow of power surges unimpeded by hot clothing! Thanks Consumerist for helping heal me. Now I’m off to go grope some nice looking young men since I can get away with it by blaming it on senility now. Whew who I’m officially a dirty old woman at 38!

If I lived there I would be furious and would ask for moving expenses, as well as all the rent I would have paid for the months left on my lease. If I terminated the lease early they certainly would do that to me.

Having been to multiple “clothing optional” events, both adult-oriented and family-oriented (I was NOT raised as a nudist), I have to say that I see nothing wrong with the idea of a nudist apartment complex/condo.

Springing it on the current residents without any warning? Shabby. Even if everyone has to either buy in or move out, they deserve some warning. Also? Both of the people in that lead in picture? I *wish* I had those kind of muscles!

As far as the attractiveness of naked people goes…well its about the same as the average people you see on the street. Most of them are…well…average. Some of them are super hot! And some of them are wrinkly/obese/etc.

After being around naked people for a while it becomes much less of a “thing”.

Interestingly enough as far as kids around nudist goes, my personal experience is that between maybe 8-18 they seem to prefer clothes for the most part. Then after 18 the older they get the more likely they are to peel. Guys seem less self-conscious about it than girls.

Personally while I have no PROBLEM with being naked at events like this, I usually wear a sarong…cuz sitting naked on outdoor furniture, concrete, grass, etc is just not comfortable.

I can understand people who wouldn’t want to live there because of the new rules, but this is a free country, and if they want to turn it into a nudist colony, they have the right to. Much like if you don’t like it, you have the right to move.

I will say the naked human body is beautiful, and use to be considered worth making statues out of.

@snoop-blog: Um, OK… but what about contract law? Not that I’m morally opposed to it, but unless my lease explicitly stated “fellow tenants will run around your home nude” I doubt anyone could convince me that freedom of expression was at stake.

@snoop-blog: The way some apartment complexes are set up in warmer places where there are 4 buildings forming a box around a central courtyard with a pool and limited access, it would be ideal for what these people want to do. I don’t have an issue with a bunch of people wanting to make a nudist or swinger only apartment complex. But they really should have given the current tenants more time to find a new place and compensation that would be enough to get them moved and deposits on a new place or fork over their deposits early. The issue is more with how bad the landlord dropped the ball on the current tenants and left them in a bad situation.

Just in case you (pl.) didn’t notice on the website, it does say that the nakedness is limited to 18+ adult only areas. It’s not like there are people walking into the leasing office to pay their rent in the nude. I have a feeling people are reading too much into this. The apartment complex in which I used to live had saunas in the gym with lots of naked people in them. There were no kids allowed and thus, there were no children “exposed” to the scary naked body. Nor were there any little naked kids running around.

For those of you who are made because the editors of this site didn’t put an NSFW tag on the link – you’re reading an article about a NUDIST facility. If you see an article about nude people, and you’re at a workplace that frowns upon looking at pictures of nude people… perhaps you shouldn’t read that particular article at work.

@IphtashuFitz:
That is a very interesting perspective from a legal standpoint. A typical constructive eviction may include a landlord turning off utilities, refusing to eradicate an extreme pest infestation, not making repairs to dilapidated units, or harassment. Turning the apartment complex into a nudist colony certainly has to be unique in terms of testing the legal limits of what defines an apartment “uninhabitable and unsuitable for the purposes for which it was leased”. Similarly, subjective obscenity laws test the limits of what is considered a “prurient” interest, and what has serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

The landlord is allowing tenants to break their lease without penalty–a typical outcome in cases where the landlord is held responsible. I don’t know if the legal remedy in that state allows for residents to recoup moving expenses under such circumstances but I would sue for it. As an apartment dweller myself, I wouldn’t want to have to find a new place to live on such short notice. Moving is a logistical and financial burden that an unsuspecting tenant shouldn’t have to bear.

I viewed the web site, and at first glance I thought those were pictures of unfinished houses. The stark Canary Yellow reminds me of that plastic Tyvec housing wrap. The balcony also looks a bit like scaffolding.
Strange people must dwell inside such strange places.

A big part of what underlies eating disorders in America is reflected in this thread. The idea that only beauty should be displayed (it’s okay if they’re naked if they’re hot) and rampant discomfort with body image is a part of many comments. This sort of thinking makes people neurotic about body image. They become obsessed with food and develop eating disorders.

The prudishness of a society leads it to hyper-sexualize everything because they are constantly repressing their feelings. Nudity is not about sex in many cultures but simply about not wearing clothing. Americans (and I am also American) see any nudity as sexual from breast feeding to nudist environments. This sort of thinking is one step removed from someone who titters every time they hear the word “come” because they can’t help but mentally connect it with sexual usage. People need to grow up and develop mature notions of sexuality and nudity.

@PlayerX: you are sure of that? which one are you then?@Ihaveasmartpuppy: i heard he feels the same way about you.
The jokes about not wanting to see your neighbors nude grow tiresome. Ever think they may not even want to see you clothed? Are people on this site really that superficial?

It would sound great, and would be great say when you were in college with lots of 18-21 year hotties but seriously who are they kidding. I’m sure the dept of children’s services would like to speak with the management given that exposing (no pun here) to that environment would not be the best.

Nice looking complex but I really don’t want to see hairy manback walking by as I have breakfast on my balcony, ya know.

For some reason I’m frighteningly inspired by this article, which may result in me drunkenly laying naked on the balcony for most of the day..chainsmoking and chugging vodka as i yell at my neighbors “its only natural man….only natural!”

Not an ideal situation, but at least the tenants are allowed to break lease. I’m in a similar situation (no, really) and the lease is set in stone because the changes my housemates are making “improve the value of the house.” 11 months to go…

I’m a lover of floorplan porn but the bathrooms on some of those confuse me. It looks like there’s triangles of empty unused space behind the walls. It looks like a nice bathroom, but it just strikes me as horribly inefficient.

But then, I can’t see if there’s any kind of utility pipe running through there or something.

On-topic: I’m cool with nudity, but there should have been reasonable notice to the current tenants.

I think nudism is just natural and I think it’s horrible that it’s so frowned apoun, hidden, and outlawed in the majority of places.I am always naked when I can be and when I can be is only when I’m alone in my room. My family doesn’t allow it in the rest of the house and the law doesn’t allow it outside. I think it has nothing to do with sex, when naturists want to appear more sexual they change the way they are acting and you view them in a whole different way.

To me, being nude is being the same person but in a sensually charged ambience that is very pleasurable. Indeed I prefer being with my family and other sociable mixed gender naturists in clubs and resorts for all of our recreation or relaxation. My personal best was three weeks vacation at a resort in France, with everything except sandals put away for the entire duration. The strangeness of shirt and shorts to depart there was almost as strange as becoming a naturist many years before. As regards sex-life; being nude together promotes an appreciation of the pleasure that can be given one to another.

There was an article similar to this in South Florida’s Sun-Sentinal last week. Apparently they’re doing that at quite a few apartment complexes in South Florida…not making them 100% nudist but many with more than one community pool are making 1 pool clothing optional. They seem to think that this will boost rentals since they’ve been losing them left and right lately…..I personally don’t see how making 1 pool clothing optional would make more people want to rent their units…I think it would however make more than a few people who DON’T live there take a drive around the complex!

That photo actually has nothing at all to do with the EdenTampa.com residential community that the story was written about. I happen to have an apartment there and love it. When I asked them why they would tell the news reporters before telling us, they explained that they did NOT tell the reporters, but rather someone leaked it to the reporters who quickly swarmed down on the place with cameras in tow asking a million questions.

It is funny how twisted around the story seems to have gotten from the truth and the facts. This is NOT a “nudist colony”. It is still a residential community with two swimming pools and one of the pools is for adults only. Just like night clubs and casinos are for adults only and just like many of the upscale resorts in Vegas have swimming pools that are for adults only. This is no different. An adults only pool with fewer restrictions on the adults so we can all sunbath, relax and enjoy the sun and pool without being splashed by noisy kids. I like it and plan to stay and look forward to enjoying European/South Beach style nude sunbathing and swimming.

Come on now. Of the whole complex, only one of the pools is proposed for clothing optional use (nudity not required) and it is to be landscaped, gated and signed so it cannot be viewed from the outside, and no chance of anyone getting a glimpse unless they decide they want to.

To me, being nude is being the same person but in a sensually charged ambience that is very pleasurable. Indeed I prefer being with my family and other sociable mixed gender naturists in clubs and resorts for all of our recreation or relaxation. My personal best was three weeks vacation at a resort in France, with everything except sandals put away for the entire duration. The strangeness of shirt and shorts to depart there was almost as strange as becoming a naturist many years before. As regards sex-life; being nude together promotes an appreciation of the pleasure that can be given one to another. The world is full of surprises and the secret naturist, who tends to explore country side and other areas not usually explored by ‘normal’ people and who also present an attractive target by being naked, tend to attract all manner of interesting creatures, many of which are intend on biting, stinging, eating and generally making life a misery for any unfortunate who passes by. Naturist looks like you and I and come from all walks of life. You will find it to be a relaxing lifestyle that is free of the daily stress we all experience. Naturist groups like [www.naturistmingle.com] are looking for people who are open minded and want to enjoy the company of others of a like mind.